Dave Chappelle pleads with Trump to ‘do better this time,’ calls for empathy for Palestinians in monologue

“SNL” host Dave Chappelle opened his Saturday night monologue by recounting how hard he tried to get out of hosting the show, then launched into a nearly 17-minute set that touched on everything from the LA wildfires to Trump to Palestine and Jimmy Carter.

Chappelle said that in October, Lorne Michaels called and asked him to host the first one “Saturday Night Live” show after the presidential election “and I said no, I’m cool, I got all this money and stuff,” the comedian shared. Chappelle said he finally agreed and “the moment I said yes, LA went up in flames.”

Thus began a section of the monologue that provoked some unpleasant laughter.

“This is the most expensive natural disaster that has ever happened in the history of the United States. And you want to know why I think that is? Because people in LA have nice things. I could burn 40,000 acres in Mississippi for $600 or $700,” he joked .

Chappelle continued, “I watch the news or talk to my friends, they have all these conspiracy theories about what started these fires. Now they’re saying it’s arsonists. I’ve heard this theory and I’m sure there was some arsonists, but there were a lot of elements that came together to make this fire the disaster it was. The wind was 100 miles an hour. Hell, they were as dry as a bone and that was it too many facts. If you were a rational person, at least consider the possibility that God hates these people.”

The comedian also took on Diddy, recalling how his friends questioned how he didn’t know anything about the alleged sex parties.

“My friends asked, they said, ‘Dave, did you know anything about those freak off parties?’ I was like, man. I didn’t know about them,” he began. “Well, how are all these people that you know when they’re free and you’re not? ‘ and I thought about it for a minute and I thought, ‘Oh my God. I’m ugly.”

Chappelle surmised he wasn’t invited because he gives off “talkative energy.”

The comedian also took on Trump, but before he got to the president-elect, he took a stab at commemorating Jimmy Carter with a story from when he left “Chappelle’s Show” and went to the Middle East.

“While I was there, Jimmy Carter flew to Israel. So everyone in the region was talking about a former US president being in the Middle East. And while he was in Israel, his book was published and the title was very controversial in Israel, the title of the book was ‘Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid’. People were very mad in Israel. There were many bad stories that appeared in the paper, but some people were supportive. And while he was there, Jimmy Carter said, ‘I want to go to the Palestinian Territory,’ and the Israeli government said, ‘It’s too dangerous, and if you go, we can’t protect you.’ And man, Jimmy Carter went anyway. I will never forget the images of a former US president walking with little or no security while thousands of Palestinians would cheer. Seeing that picture brought tears to my eyes. I said, I don’t know if that’s a good president, but right there, I’m sure, is a great man.”

Chappelle ended his monologue by addressing Trump directly — “because I know you’re watching the show,” he said.

“The presidency is not a place for petty people,” he began. “So Donald Trump, remember whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you. I mean it when I say it, Good luck. Please, all of us, do better next time. Please don’t forget your humanity, whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine.”

The post ‘SNL’: Dave Chappelle pleads with Trump to ‘do better this time,’ calls for empathy for Palestinians in monologue appeared first TheWrap.